Murray's career turn brings him home to Worcester

Thursday

May 23, 2013 at 6:00 AMMay 23, 2013 at 8:42 AM

By John J. Monahan TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

In a development Wednesday that took the state's political world by surprise, Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray announced he will leave his elected position next month to become president and chief executive officer of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Murray, a former Worcester mayor, accepted the offer from the 2,300-member business organization, which voted on his hiring during a noontime meeting Wednesday.

“This has been a difficult yet empowering decision,” he said at a Statehouse press conference, where he was accompanied by Gov. Deval L. Patrick.

Mr. Murray will leave office June 2 and begin work at the chamber June 3, he said. He will replace Richard B. Kennedy, who is retiring after nine years in the post.

“This is completely about my family and about a job that provides opportunity. To me this is a right fit and a right decision,” said the 44-year-old lawyer who has held elected positions for the past 15 years, the last six as lieutenant governor.

Mr. Patrick praised Mr. Murray, calling him a friend who will always be part of his family, and thanked him “for the extraordinary role he has played” on veterans, transportation, economic development, housing and municipal issues.

“Tim Murray has been a trusted partner and just a great friend. He was here in every way for the right reasons. So this is no small loss for our team or for me,” Mr. Patrick said. “I'm happy for him personally but I'm a little miffed professionally

” about losing Mr. Murray, he said.

As for questions whether Mr. Patrick may himself leave his post before his term is up, Mr. Murray said, “We've got a governor who is going to be here for eight years and continue to do a great job.”

Mr. Murray was uncertain whether he would run for elected office in the future. “I'm not going to rule it out. We will see,” he said. “There are always comeback stories in the news.”In January, Mr. Murray announced that he would not run for governor in 2014. He cited demands of campaigning and a desire to spend time with his wife and two young daughters.

Mr. Murray, who was elected with Mr. Patrick in 2006 and again in 2010, saw his political standing tarnished by a 2011 high-speed car crash in which he drove off the road on Interstate 190 in Sterling. More recently, his ties to Michael McLaughlin, the troubled former housing director from Chelsea, have been the subject of investigations, but he has not been cited for any wrongdoing.

Administration officials on hand for Mr. Murray's announcement crowded into the first-floor press room and gave him a standing ovation when he entered with Mr. Patrick.

Calling the announcement both “an ending and a beginning,” Mr. Murray said the new job is a continuation of the kind of work he has been doing for 15 years in elected office and one that will allow him to work closer to his Worcester home and family.

He said he was not looking for a new job when the executive committee of the chamber approached him in March about the post.

The Boston Globe reported that Mr. Murray will be paid more than $200,000 a year in his new role. His current salary is just under $125,000 per year. Mr. Kennedy's salary is $150,000.

Chamber Board Chairman Richard P. Burke said Mr. Murray will be a strong leader of the business community, providing a keen focus on economic development.

“Tim Murray is a proven leader with a passion for economic development and the ability to lead the business community,” Mr. Burke said. “This is a great day for the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.”

Worcester City Manager Michael V. O'Brien praised the decision.

“The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce continues to support and help grow our local economy, and no one understands these opportunities better than Tim,” Mr. O'Brien said. “It is a huge win for Central Mass. and Worcester. He is a respected leader with a proven track record of successes.”

Former state Rep. Vincent A. Pedone, who described Mr. Murray as “a born leader,” said Central Massachusetts will benefit from having Mr. Murray at work on business development issues for the Chamber of Commerce. But he said losing his clout on Beacon Hill “is an enormous loss for Worcester.”

State Transportation Secretary Richard A. Davey said Mr. Murray played a key role in all of the state's major transportation initiatives in recent years. “He's the Tom Brady of transportation. He has quarterbacked every transportation thing we have done,” Mr. Davey said.

State Rep. John J. Binienda, D-Worcester, the longest serving legislator from Worcester, said he had always expected Mr. Murray would eventually become governor. “It's a sad day for Worcester when you look at what he has accomplished,” Mr. Binienda said. But he added the new job is a “perfect fit” to promote business development in Worcester.

“He made trade missions. He's responsible for the opening of Shrewsbury Street back into Front Street into downtown Worcester with the tearing down of that wall at the end of Front Street,” Mr. Binienda said. He said Mr. Murray got plans and funding in place to double commuter rail service in the city and helped secure Jet Blue flights out of Worcester airport that begin in November.

In preparation for taking the job, Mr. Murray filed a conflict of interest disclosure at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday with the state Ethics Commission. He listed the chamber as a potential employer and said no conflicts existed between his actions and the chamber of commerce.

In an interview, Mr. Murray said he deflected the job offer when it was first offered.

“Initially I just said, 'Look, I don't think this works, with the timing,' ” he said, since he was planning to serve out his term.

But chamber officials made a renewed pitch to more aggressively promote Central Massachusetts and raise its stature in the region, seeking out more economic development opportunities, he said.

“I started to think about it a little bit, and in many ways it's consistent with what I have been doing for 15 years as lieutenant governor, as mayor, as a city councilor and even when I was on the Worcester library board,” he said.

“Personally it makes a lot of sense — with a young family, my daughters have just turned 8 and 7 — and I'd have the ability to be closer to home. It's a unique job. It's not one that is going to be there in 2015,” he said of the chamber opening.

Mr. Murray's decision to exit the 2014 campaign came after controversy arose about his high-speed car crash and subsequent refusal to disclose cellphone records from the morning of the accident.

More controversy erupted last year over his involvement with the Chelsea housing director, Mr. McLaughlin, who was charged with fraudulent operations of the housing authority and concealing his excessive salary. Questions then surfaced about Mr. McLaughlin's fundraising role on behalf of Mr. Murray. Prosecutors on the McLaughlin case interviewed Mr. Murray.

The controversies over the car crash and investigation of Mr. McLaughlin were not central to bypassing a run for governor, but rather the demands it would have put on him and his family, Mr. Murray said. He said he tried to address questions about the McLaughlin scandal as best he could.

“I continue to try to work on the McLaughlin thing for a resolution,” Mr. Murray said. “He misled a whole bunch of organizations and people in a whole variety of ways, including myself. That makes me angry and frustrated, and we are working to try to bring that to resolution and believe that we will at some point. But in the meantime this opportunity presented itself, and it's unique, and I am excited about it.”

Mr. Murray said the idea of leaving the office he has held for seven years was not easy.

“That's been the hard part. I have loved my time in elected office, and I think on the things that matter I am pretty good at it,” Mr. Murray said, while acknowledging the help of others in the administration.

“We have the ability to not just come up with ideas but to get those ideas implemented,” he said. His accomplishments include shepherding the CSX rail transfer project to fruition, bringing passenger service and upgrades to Worcester airport, making progress on homelessness and giving local mayors and community officials greater access to the governor's office and state resources.

“It's bittersweet. I am going to be leaving a job I have enjoyed and a lot of good people,” he said. He said he spoke with Mr. Patrick about his decision to leave and said the governor viewed it with mixed feelings. “He, like myself, had a lot of mixed emotions and thoughts about it, but understood it's a unique opportunity.”

Noting the recent history of governors leaving before their terms finished, Mr. Murray said his decision is something of a twist on Beacon Hill. “It's ironic that the lieutenant governor is leaving and he is staying,” Mr. Murray said of Mr. Patrick.

Mr. Murray will leave office while chairman of the National Lieutenant Governors Association. There is no constitutional provision to fill a vacancy in the lieutenant governor's job. It will remain vacant until a new lieutenant governor takes office in 2015.